The first evidence of a massive influx of homes to be built in south Welland is piling up.
A large berm in Dain City is the result of materials being moved from one site to another by a developer planning to build two large subdivisions in the area, said city planning manager Rachelle Larocque.
Empire Communities is poised to construct as many as 2,000 homes in the area, including more than 1,400 slated for the Dain East subdivision, north of Forks Road and east of the former John Deere lands.
The rest are for the Dain West subdivision, fronting Canal Bank Street on the property of the factory that closed in 2009.
At the site of the Dain West build, the large mound of dirt is a result of the developer undertaking a necessary cleanup to get a record of site condition at the Dain East lands.
“It just worked out they have these two sites side by side,” said Larocque.
She couldn’t say whether the excess soil will be used to build a berm that’s required at the Dain West site to act as a buffer from the nearby rail line.
Reconstruction of Forks Road began in the fall, a crucial early step in the development. It’s expected the first phase of the project will start to be serviced in the spring, said Larocque.
“They’ll be looking at getting homes built in the early summer,” she said.
Currently, moving dirt for a record of site condition is the primary work taking place, along with the reconfiguration of Forks Road. Once built, the two new residential hubs are expected to result in more amenities.
In the Dain East subdivision, the first to be built, three parks will be constructed including one overlooking the working Welland Canal along with 2.5 kilometres of trails.
The Dain West subdivision will feature two parks, four kilometres of trails and land for a possible new Catholic elementary school.
District School Board of Niagara also has its sights set on a possible new facility in the Dain East subdivision, said Larocque, adding there will be plenty of opportunity for new commercial spaces.
“It’s going to, in some respects, change the face of Dain City,” she said.
Empire Communities has committed $10 million toward replacement of the Forks Road bridge, which was 88 years old when it was decommissioned in 2018 and demolished the following year. Replacement work started in the fall.
The city will contribute $5 million, with more than $4.1 million coming the federal and provincial governments.
The developer is also paying for most of a multi-use sports park behind Welland International Flatwater Centre, covering $2.75 million of its $3-million price tag, along with $300,000 from Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
The developer’s investment into the city is estimated to be up to $21 million.
Statistics Canada recently released its first wave of data from the 2021 census, outlining population growth in municipalities across the country.
Thorold was recognized as the eighth-fastest growing community in Canada, with population growth close to 27 per cent since 2016.
Welland’s population has grown to 55,750 people since 2016, a 6.6 per cent increase. There were 23,656 occupied private dwellings when data was finalized, representing a 5.2 per cent increase in new homes since 2016 when the last census was taken.
In data provided by Niagara Region spokesperson Norm Miller, building permits issued in Welland have increased significantly in recent years.
According to a chart reflecting permits from 2015 to 2020, 2,077 were issued. In 2019, there were 461 followed by 730 in 2020, putting Welland top of the list for the most building permits issued in a Niagara municipality that year.
Miller said staff have yet to compile building permit data for 2021.
In January, the city said 1,108 permits were issued in 2021. Of those, 759 were for new dwelling unit starts.
A release from the city said the value of construction for all building permits last year was about $245 million — a 22 per cent increase from the estimated construction value of about $200 million in 2020.
